My Turn
by LetTheWookieWin
Summary: Post Chosen. After Sunnydale is destroyed, Dawn finds herself being forced out of the supernatural world while Buffy and her Slayer army take over. With the help of new and old friends, Dawn fights back and just in time as a new evil approaches...
1. Of Creepy Dreams and Alarm Clocks

**AN-** Hi! Did the Potentials annoy anyone else in Season 7? For some reason it just really bugged me when Buffy kept going on about how they were "Chosen." Anyway, please enjoy this fic and please review! I love to hear what you guys think!

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Buffy or anything to do with it. I wish I owned Spike but something tells me Buffy would be quite reluctant to give him up.

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Seventeen year old Dawn Summers tightened her grip on the wooden stake she always carried. Dropping into a stealthy crouch, she glanced around at her surroundings. The dark cemetery was even creepier than usual and the marble headstones shone in the moonlight.

Her eye suddenly caught the target. A young blonde woman surrounded by vampires. She was fighting them off but she was outnumbered and tiring quickly.

Letting out a deep breath, Dawn started to run towards the fray.

"Buffy!"

The blonde looked up at the sound of Dawn's voice and grinned at the sudden appearance of her kick-ass baby sister.

"Dawnie!" She yelled. "I saved you a few!"

Dawn jumped from a headstone and landed on one of the vampires' backs. Plunging her stake into his heart, she flipped off and landed a spinning kick on another. Quickly staking him as well, she turned to see how her slayer sister was holding up. Buffy was trying to fight three vampires at once and failing miserably. Dawn back-flipped over to the slayer and punched one in the face.

"Hey Vampy!" She taunted. "You mess with one Summers gal, you mess with us both!"

The vampire growled at her and swung a punch. Dawn was ready, however, and quickly dodged it. She brought her foot up to his jaw and it made contact with a sickening crack. Twirling her stake mockingly, Dawn smirked at the other two vampires. They rushed at her, desperate to avenge their fallen brothers. They were no match for Dawn, however, and she staked them quite easily.

She spun around to face her sister. Buffy's face was full of pride and admiration. It was a look Dawn had been waiting for all her life. Suddenly, Faith stepped out into clearing followed by Kennedy.

"Well, B. It looks like little sis is all grown up." Said Faith.

Buffy nodded and smiled at her two fellow slayers.

"Yep."

"Well, that's good." Came a voice from the bushes. One by one, all the slayers in training emerged into the clearing to stand next to Buffy, Faith and Kennedy.

"She was practically useless before." Said one.

"I know." Said another. "Slaying wasn't her place. She needed a normal life."

"She would have been better off at Boarding school." One chipped in.

Dawn watched in bemusement as the slayers in training argued over what would have happened to her if she hadn't become a slayer.

"Well this is odd." Muttered Dawn.

Suddenly sensing a presence behind her, Dawn spun around just in time to see a dark figure sprint into the bushes. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to investigate. Leaving the slayers behind to bicker she followed the figure into the darkness. Dawn started to put on speed. She could feel how close the figure was, she had almost caught it! Catching sight of the figure she yelled out an important question.

"Who are you?"

A very familiar voice answered back.

"My name is-"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Dawn desperately clenched her eyes shut, trying to hold on to that mysterious dream. It was too late; however, she could feel the dream slipping away.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Dawn growled and lobbed a shoe at the annoying alarm clock that had ruined her chances of finding out who the mysterious figure was. Dawn may not have been a slayer, but she had a pretty damn good aim. The shoe hit the clock smack bang in the middle and smashed the God awful thing to pieces. Dawn grinned in satisfaction as the clock let out a final spluttered beep and died. She rolled over and wondered if she had enough time for a few extra minutes sleep.

"DAWN!"

Dawn groaned. Apparently not. She winced as Buffy stormed into her room.

"Dawn, you need to get up!" She exclaimed. "I thought Willow bought you an alarm clo-"

Buffy cut herself off as she spotted the shattered remains of the teenager's greatest enemy.

"Jeez Dawn! That's the fourth one this month! We should call you Dawn the Alarm Clock Slayer! Anyway, you need to get up. It's your first day at your new school!"

Dawn groaned again. School. Perfect. Dear old Sunnydale was destroyed in the battle with the First, Spike and Anya were both dead, Buffy, Faith and Kennedy were training new slayers, Giles and Xander were away recruiting new slayers, Willow was doing God knows what with magic and Dawnie was starting her first day of school. Gee, that sounded fun.

"Buffy, I still don't get why I have to go." Said Dawn. "None of the other girls do."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Dawn, we've been through this. You are not a slayer. You are going to have a normal life and that means going to school."

And with that final statement, Buffy stalked out the room. Dawn sighed. Ever since Sunnydale had become a giant crater, they had moved on to the next hellmouth, aka, Cleveland. Buffy, Faith and Kennedy were running a training facility for new slayers. They had fixed up an old building and affectionately named it Slayer HQ. Most of the slayers in training weren't that bad, but they seemed to think that people without slayer strength had no place in the supernatural world. So Dawn was treated like an over enthusiastic child whenever she asked to patrol with them. It appeared that some of their opinions had rubbed of on Buffy. Recently she had taken the normal life kick very seriously and Dawn was sent out the room whenever the supernatural was brought up.

The only people bearable in the whole place were Faith and Angel's son Connor. Angel had sent him to HQ in hope that Buffy could give him a normal life. Not a very well thought out idea in Dawn's opinion. Connor and Dawn got along amazingly well. Within the first week of meeting each other, they were already good friends.

Faith was the one slayer who didn't treat Dawn like a child. She knew that mortals could fight vampires just as well as slayers and sparred with Dawn and Connor whenever she got the chance.

In all honesty, Dawn really didn't know what Buffy was trying to achieve. No matter what happened, Dawn was always going to be the slayer's younger sister and trouble was attracted to her like a moth to a flame. Dawn groaned again. Maybe she should start carrying bug spray.


	2. Of New Faces and High School Musical

**AN-** Hey! Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. Thanks to **Xeelia **and **losh2kaii8 **for reviewing!

**Disclaimer-** I don't Buffy and Joss Whedon won't sell me Spike. Damn him.

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"Well, this ought to be fun." Muttered Dawn sarcastically as she stared at the huge building that was going to be her prison.

Connor stepped up next to her and cast a critical eye over the school.

"It looks like something out of a teen chick-flick." He said in disgust. "If we all randomly burst into song like in High School Musical, I'm leaving."

"Been there, done that." Quipped Dawn.

Buffy rolled down her car window and stuck her head out.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" She asked.

Dawn and Connor shot her a glare. They still weren't happy with the whole idea. Dawn was about to reply with a sarcastic comment when she was suddenly cut off by the roar of a motorbike. A sleek black bike raced past Buffy's car and headed in the direction of the pupil car park. The bike slowed to a halt and Dawn and Connor watched in awe as its two passengers dismounted and pulled off their helmets. The driver was a boy about the same age as Dawn. He ran his hand through his short brown hair and his icy blue eyes took in the scene. The other rider was a young girl. Her appearance was strikingly similar to the boy and Dawn briefly wondered if they were siblings. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a neat ponytail and a few strands of it fell onto her face. Unlike the boy, however, her eyes were a deep stunning blue.

The girl exchanged a few words with the boy and he nodded. She smiled and for the first time Dawn noticed that she was carrying a guitar.

"Wow." Whistled Connor. "That is a nice bike."

"Boys." Said Buffy rolling her eyes. "Right. I need to go now, so if you're both sure you're going to be OK..."

"Buffy, we'll be fine." Answered Dawn. "If you need to go, then go. We'll see you later."

Buffy nodded and rolled up the window. Waving, she pulled out of the car park and left Dawn and Connor standing outside the school. Dawn turned to face Connor.

"We should probably go inside." She said. "We need to go to the office to get our timetables."

Connor nodded.

"Lead the way Slayer sis."

After getting lost a few times, the pair finally found themselves standing outside the office. A tall dark haired woman turned to greet them.

"Welcome to Cleveland High School." She said cheerfully. "I'm guessing you two are the new students?"

At Dawn and Connor's nods, she hastened to introduce himself.

"I'm Principal White. I know it must be scary starting a new school, but I'm sure you'll fit in fine. The pupils here aren't that bad and the teachers are even better."

A sudden knock distracted the Principal from her introductory speech.

"You wanted to see me, miss?"

The motorbike girl stood in the doorway looking slightly out of place. Principal White smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, Miss Blake. I'd like you to show our new students around."

The girl nodded and shot a welcoming smile at Dawn and Connor.

"Hey." She said. "I'm Alexa Blake. Lexi for short. It's great to meet you."

Dawn smiled back. Lexi's friendly attitude and good mood seemed to be contagious and Dawn found herself warming up to the girl.

"Dawn Summers. It's great to meet you too."

She shot a glance at Connor. He was examining Lexi with a suspicious eye. Obviously growing up in a hell dimension had not improved his people skills. Dawn elbowed him in the ribs and he seemed to take the hint.

"Oh, I'm Connor. Connor...Angel."

Dawn shot him a look as if to say, 'What the hell?'

Lexi just smirked.

"That's an interesting last name." She said. "Anyway, do you guys have your timetables? I'll show you where to go."

After studying the timetables thoroughly, the trio filed out of the office and made their way down the hall.

"So." Began Lexi. "Where are you two from?"

"I'm from LA." Said Connor. "I'm staying with Dawn and her sister while my dad takes care of some business."

"I'm from Sunnydale." Said Dawn.

"No way!" Exclaimed their guide. "As in the huge crater Sunnydale?! You survived the earthquake?"

Dawn grinned and exchanged a knowing look with Connor.

"Yep, the one and the same."

"That's so cool! I've heard loads of amazing stories about Sunnydale. All about supernatural stuff."

Dawn suddenly noticed that Lexi spoke with a soft Scottish accent.

"What about you, Lexi?" She asked. "Where are you from?"

A sad smile appeared on Lexi's face.

"I grew up in Bonnie Scotland." She replied. "I moved here with my brother when my mum and dad died. We live with our Uncle Kurt."

Dawn felt her heart lurch for her new friend. She knew what it was like to lose a parent.

"Jeez Lexi, I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I still have my brother and Uncle Kurt. Oh! Let's introduce you to the rest of the gang!"

Dawn and Connor exchange an amused look and quickly followed Lexi. The trio emerged from the main building and Lexi lead them over to a picnic table under a large tree. The group of pupils lounging on the grass beside it waved as Lexi, Dawn and Connor approached. The motorbike boy grinned and yelled a greeting.

"Hey, Echo! Who are your new friends?"

Connor shot a confused look at Dawn and she shrugged.

"Hi guys!" Said Lexi. "This is Dawn Summers and Connor Angel. They're new here. Dawn, Connor, meet the gang!"

Motorbike boy stood up and dusted the back of his trousers.

"I'm Luke." He said grinning. "Lexi's my twin sister." He turned to Connor. "I gotta tell you, it's great to have another guy in the group. Me and Theo were feeling a bit outnumbered."

At that comment, a blonde girl stood up and whacked Luke round the back of his head.

"Shut up Luke." She shook her head in despair. "I'm Lucy. Please ignore anything Luke says. Most of the time it's a load of crap."

"Here here!" Exclaimed Lexi and received an evil glare from her twin. "What? The girl tells it like it is. You gotta respect that."

"C'mon Echo!" Whined Luke. "You're my twin! You're meant to be on my side!"

"Face it Luke." Piped up a small mousy girl. "Mostly you do talk about crap." She shot a welcoming smile at Dawn and Connor. "I'm Ella. It's great to meet you both."

Dawn smiled back.

Suddenly Luke spun around as if he had lost something. Lexi watched her brother in amusement.

"What's up Luke? Lose something?"

"Where's Theo? He was here a minute ago."

Lexi shrugged.

"Don't know. Maybe he wandered off. I don't get why you're looking for him. He'll turn up eventually."

Luke shot his sister a patronizing glance.

"I don't get why you're not looking for him, Echo. He has your guitar."

"What?! That son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Now, now Lexi. There's no need for language like that." Chided Lucy. "I'm sure Theo didn't mean to take it."

"Yes, he bloody well did!" Exclaimed Lexi. "He does this every fricking time!"

Suddenly Luke started jumping up and down and pointing at a figure approaching them.

"Oooh! Oooh! There he is! Kill him Echo! Kill him!"

Everyone stared oddly at Luke and took a step back.

"Theo!" Yelled Lexi. "Where did you disappear off to?"

The messy haired boy glanced up and slid his glasses up his nose.

"I had to get my maths homework from Mr Matthews." He answered. Catching sight of Dawn and Connor, he grinned. "Hey! New guys! I'm Theo. Welcome to Cleveland! Home of the creepy and supernatural!"

At Dawn and Connor's alarmed looks, Lexi hastened to explain.

"Theo's really into this whole supernatural gig." She explained. "He has this theory that vampires, werewolves and demons actually exist. He's a weird kid."

"Hey!" Exclaimed Theo. Lexi just ignored his objection and fixed him with a steely glare.

"Theo, where's my guitar?"

Theo shrugged.

"Don't have a clue. Luke had it the last time I saw it."

Lexi turned to face her twin who was cracking up with laughter. Sudden realisation dawned on her as she figured out that she had been fooled.

"Luke you arse!" She shrieked jumping on his back.

The rest of the gang burst into laughter as they watched the siblings' display. Dawn sat down next to Ella and Lucy and watched as Lexi attacked her brother.

"Do they do this a lot?" She asked in between her fits of giggles.

Lucy nodded.

"They're always playing pranks on each other. One time, after Luke stole all Lexi's shoes, they had a massive prank war that lasted for days. We were all terrified that we'd be next."

"So." Ella began after the laughter had subsided. "Do you have any questions for us?"

"I have one." Said Connor. "Why does Luke call Lexi Echo?"

Ella, Lucy and Theo shared a small smile as Luke and Lexi collapsed onto the grass.

"What are we talking about?" Asked Luke slightly out of breath.

"The origins of the name 'Echo." Answered Theo. "Dawn and Connor were curious."

Luke's face split into a huge grin.

"Well, when Lexi and I were kids, she used to have this habit of repeating everything people said when she was nervous. She grew out of it eventually but the name 'Echo' just seemed to stick." He explained.

"Anyway, changing the subject." Said Lexi, clearly embarrassed by the childhood memory. "Do you guys want to meet up at Sundayz later?"

"Sundayz?" Asked Dawn in confusion.

"It's an ice cream parlour." Explained Theo. "We usually go there after school to, well... Just hang out really. You and Connor should come with. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, you should!" Agreed Lexi. "The ice cream is great!"

Dawn considered the offer. Buffy would be pissed if she was home late. But then again, she would be away training slayers and she had wanted Dawn to have a normal life.

"We'll be there." She declared with a grin.

"Alright!" Exclaimed Luke. "Welcome to the gang!"


	3. Of Motorbike Rides and a License to Kill

**AN- **Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! Thanks to **losh2kaii8 **and **Cerdwyn3** for reviewing. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Remember, please review!

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I do own the gang though and the two annoying Slayers in training at the end of this chapter. They say hi.

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"DAWN!"

Dawn groaned. It had been a month since she and Connor had started Cleveland High and she still found it incredibly difficult to get up in the morning.

_"Wait a minute."_ She thought to herself. _"It's Saturday. Why is Buffy screaming for me to get up?"_

"DAWN! THERE'S SOMEONE ON THE PHONE FOR YOU!"

_"Oh, that would be why."_

Dawn crawled out from under the covers and made her way into the living room. Buffy was standing in the doorway, fully dressed holding out the phone.

"Where are you off to?" Asked Dawn as she took the phone from the older Summers.

"Training session with Faith and some of the newer slayers. I'll be gone all day." Buffy answered.

"Oh, right."

Dawn couldn't hide the note of disappointment in her voice. She had been hoping the two of them could have had a sister's day. Apparently it would have to be cancelled. She held the phone up to her ear and disappeared back into her room.

"Hello?"

"Good morning sunshine!" Came Lexi's cheerful voice.

"Morning."

Dawn obviously sounded quite depressed and Lexi picked up on it quickly.

"What's up Dawn? Usually when I call you this early, I get a stream of insults screamed into my ear."

Dawn smiled. The gang knew that she wasn't a morning person and took it upon themselves to phone her as early as possible. They had started with obscene times, but after the one time Luke had called at four o'clock in the morning and Buffy had picked up in a bad mood they decided that it wasn't worth it.

"Don't worry about it Lexi. It's just that... Well I was hoping to spend some time with Buffy today and..."

"Big sis had plans." Finished Lexi understandably. She knew that Dawn desperately craved Buffy's attention and more often than not, Lexi had to deal with a depressed Dawn after Buffy had bailed.

"Dawn, I know what you need." She said. "The gang's meeting up at Sundayz and there's a triple chocolate fudge sundae with your name on it. Grab Connor and meet us there."

Dawn smiled. Lexi had never even met Buffy but she had never once judged her for bailing on Dawn.

"Ooh, wait!" Exclaimed Lexi suddenly. "Even better! I'll come pick you up on the bike!"

Lexi knew that Dawn loved riding on the black motorbike that the Blake twins shared. She had a sneaking suspicion it was because of the fact that if Buffy knew, she would throw a fit.

"Mmm. Ice cream and motorbike rides. How can I refuse?" Said Dawn playfully.

"I don't know. It is an amazing offer. Y'know, we should totally arrange a girls' night soon. Just you, me, Lucy and Ella. It could be fun!"

"I think I'll take you up on that." Answered Dawn. "We need a girls' night."

"Great!" Said Lexi cheerfully. "We'll discuss it with the others at Sundayz. I'm on my way now. If Connor wants to come, then the pair of you meet me at the corner of your street. That way Buffy won't find out that you're on my bike."

"Right. See you in a minute."

"Bye!"

Dawn hung up the phone, slung on some clothes and made her way into the living room. She placed the phone back in its cradle and grabbed her bag off the small coffee table.

"Buffy!" She yelled to her sister. "I'm going out! I'll be back for dinner!"

She heard Buffy yell a faint reply but by that time was already out the door and halfway along the corridor of Slayer HQ. She hummed quietly to herself as she swiftly travelled to Connor's room. Dawn raised her hand and was about to knock rapidly on the door, when a voice suddenly distracted her.

"Does B know you're going out?"

Dawn spun round in shock to face Faith. Gathering her nerves she nodded.

"Ah." Said Faith. "Does she also know that you've been driving round the town on the back of a motorbike, and that same motorbike is waiting for you and Angel Jr on the corner of the street?"

At Dawn's guilty silence, a smirk slid across Faith's face.

"Well, it's good to know that you're finally rebelling." She said. "Just don't forget to wear a helmet."

Dawn's jaw dropped open and she stared at Faith in shock.

"Shouldn't you be telling me to stop this foolish behaviour and go back upstairs?" She spluttered in surprise.

"Erm, why would I do that? We both know that you and Angel Jr can take care of yourselves. Besides, it's not as if you're doing anything stupid. That girl's a pretty good driver. Don't worry. Big sis won't find out from me."

"Thanks Faith." Said Dawn grinning gratefully.

"No problem D." Faith turned to leave. "Oh, and watch out for vamps."

Dawn shook her head in amazement as she watched the slayer disappear off down the corridor. She absentmindedly knocked on Connor's door. It swung open and Dawn found herself facing a topless Connor.

"Connor!" She gasped, her face turning bright red.

"Hey Dawn. What's up?"

Dawn dragged her eyes from Connor's well muscled chest and gulped.

"Erm. Oh, Lexi wants to know if you want to come to Sundayz. She's meeting us at the corner."

Connor smirked as Dawn's eyes slid back down from his face. He quickly grabbed a t-shirt from his room and pulled it on.

"Better now?" He asked.

Dawn snapped out of her trance and scowled at him.

"C'mon. Lexi's waiting."

The pair made their way to the corner where Lexi was supposed to meet them. She was leaning against the bike with a bored expression playing on her face. Instead of the usual ponytail, her dark hair was loose and framed her heart shaped face. Lexi was wearing a stylish black leather jacket which came to just above her knees. Dawn recognised it as the same one they had bought on their mall crawl the previous week.

"Lexi!"

Lexi glanced up at Connor's yell and grinned at the approaching duo. Dawn waved and was about to run up to greet her friend, when a sudden shout stopped her in her tracks.

"Dawn! Where are you going?"

Dawn groaned and spun around to face two of the slayers in training. They were part of Buffy's patrol squad and were the main believers in the 'normal kids can't fight' idea. They often took it upon themselves to rat her out to Buffy whenever she managed to sneak out. The taller one, Dawn remembered her name as Rose; cast a worrying eye over Dawn and Connor.

"Relax." Said Connor. "We're just going out with some friends."

The two slayers exchanged glances.

"That's probably not a good idea." Began the shorter one. "We ran into some pretty tough vampires last night. You should go back inside until we've dealt with it."

"Michelle's right." Agreed Rose. "We all know that you two are no match for the school bully, let alone vampires."

Dawn bristled in anger and she could tell that Connor was trying very hard to unclench his jaw.

"I disagree." Commented Lexi who had just joined them.

"Dawn and Connor could beat the crap out of the school bully."

Rose narrowed her eyes at Lexi and shot her a death glare.

"Who might you be?" She asked coldly.

"Blake, Alexa Blake." Said Lexi in her best James Bond voice. "Agent 004. License to kill."

Dawn and Connor tried to suppress their laughter at the two slayers' faces.

"Right." Said Rose. "What do you want?"

"For you to stop being such a bitch." Quipped Lexi cheerfully. "It really isn't a great personality trait."

Rose growled and Michelle had to grab her arm to stop her leaping at Lexi.

"C'mon Rose. Don't lose your temper. Buffy'll kill you."

"Not without a license." Said Lexi, putting her Bond voice back on. "Now, if you excuse us, there is a triple chocolate fudge sundae with our names on it."

And with that final comment, she waltzed off leaving the speechless slayers behind. Dawn shot them a mocking grin and quickly followed Lexi. Connor smirked at them.

"You gotta admit, that girl is the Queen of Comebacks!" He waved at them and started to run towards Dawn and Lexi. "Watch out for those vamps!"


	4. Of Ice Cream Sundaes and Mexican Waves

**AN-** Hey guys! Thanks to **Xeelia**,** Ruthie G 8 **and **starophie **for reviewing the last chapter. It's really great to get feedback so please review! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer**- I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Which really sucks… Like a straw.

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The black motorbike pulled up outside Sundayz and Dawn staggered off.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, yanking the helmet off of her head and smoothing down her hair. "What a rush!"

Connor and Lexi slid off the bike and glanced at her in amusement.

"Dawn." Said Lexi shaking her head. "We were only going five miles per hour. It wasn't exactly Grand Prix speed."

"I know, but it just felt so great to have the wind whistling through my hair."

"Dawn, you were wearing a full face helmet." Sighed Connor. "Unless yours is magic, the only wind running through your hair would be your breath bouncing off the visor."

Dawn shot him an evil glare and flounced through the glass doors of Sundayz. Lexi laughed slightly and followed her in.

"What a drama queen." She muttered to Connor.

"Hey guys! Over here!"

The trio caught sight of Lucy, Ella and Theo sitting at their usual circular table next to the window in the corner. They were all waving madly. Dawn, Lexi and Connor made their way over and plonked themselves down on the sofas surrounding their table.

Sundayz couldn't really be called an ice cream parlour. It was really just a cafe that sold ice cream. It was filled with comfy armchairs and sofas and more often than not, there was live music playing. Lexi often took to the stage with her guitar to earn a quick buck. Luke had once commented that it was just like the program Friends, Sundayz was their coffee shop and Lexi was their Phoebe. That had resulted in the whole gang jumping on the tables singing 'I'll Be There For You.'

Lexi settled down into her favourite armchair and sighed. Lucy grinned.

"Exciting morning Lexi?"

"I'll say." Commented Dawn. "She came to pick us up and totally mocked these girls."

"Hey!" Interrupted Lexi. "Nobody insults my friends and gets away with it! They were being so patronising! Who the hell were they anyway?"

"Oh, they work with my sister." Said Dawn shrugging.

"Are they like that a lot?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah I guess. But it's no big deal."

"It sure as hell is!" Exclaimed Ella. "Like Lexi said. Nobody insults our friends and gets away with it!"

"Yeah!" Added Theo. "All for one and one for all, and all that jazz."

"C'mon guys." Said Connor. "They never actually insulted us."

"They might as well have!" Said Lexi. "They were talking to you as if you were babies!"

"What did they say?" Asked Lucy leaning in.

Lexi recounted the tale and Dawn and Connor winced at the gangs' annoyed expressions.

"And the one girl totally acted all snobbish and as if she was better than them!" Finished Lexi.

"God! What a bi-atch!" Came a voice from the doorway.

"Luke, you're late." Said Lucy. "We've been here for an hour already."

"Sorry." Apologised Luke, coming over and perching on the arm of Lexi's chair. "But a certain sister of mine dashed off this morning, taking the bike with her. I had to catch the bus."

"Oops" Said Lexi meekly.

"Oops is right." Scowled Luke. "I had old ladies giving me evils for the whole trip!"

"Y'know I never get why old people do that." Commented Ella. "Teenagers are perfectly able to ride on a bus without setting it on fire or something along those lines."

"I used to think the same thing." Said Lexi. "But then one time back home, a guy peed all over the back seat of the bus. It was gross. I've had a fear of public transport ever since then."

The gang burst into giggles at Lexi's disgusted expression. They hardly even noticed when the waitress, Sandra, wandered up.

"Hey, you lot." Said Sandra cheerfully. The gang were frequent customers at Sundayz so most of the staff knew who they were and never hesitated to chat to them.

"Hey Sandra." Greeted Dawn. "How's it going?"

"Not bad." Chuckled Sandra. "Now, what are you all gonna have?"

"Triple Chocolate Fudge Sundaes all around!" Exclaimed Luke. "And as Lexi's punishment for deserting me this morning, she's paying! Yay!"

"Fine." Groaned Lexi. "I guess that's only fair."

"The band that was supposed to be playing today cancelled last minute." Said Sandra. "If you perform, we'll give you the ice cream for free."

"Really?" Asked Lexi eagerly. "'Cause I'm always up for free ice cream!"

"Sure. Grab your guitar and get up there!"

"And it just so happens that your darling brother brought it with him!" Said Luke happily, holding up Lexi's guitar.

Lexi shook her head, grabbed it off him and made her way towards the stage.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen." Announced Sandra. "Sundayz is proud to present, Alexa Blake!"

The gang cheered enthusiastically as Lexi started to sing. Her soft melodic voice wafted over the tables as she gently strummed her guitar.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Luke. "Mexican Wave!"

He stood up and waved his arms in the air. Lucy sighed, grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him down.

"Here you go." Said Sandra, coming over with a tray of ice cream. "Enjoy!"

The gang thanked her and practically leapt into the ice cream. Dawn turned to Ella and Lucy.

"Lexi suggested we should have a girls' night." She said, licking her spoon. "It would be a good opportunity to ditch the guys."

"Hey!" Exclaimed Luke, Connor and Theo indignantly.

"No, she's right." Agreed Ella. "We haven't done anything just as us girls."

"Yeah." Added Lucy playfully. "I don't know how much more of Luke I can take!"

Luke put on a wounded expression and held his hand to his heart.

"Lucy, your cruel words hurt me deeply."

"Jeez." Teased Connor. "Melodramatic much?"

The gang laughed at Luke's scowl.

"Well, we've got all day to kill." Said Theo. "You can decide on your girls' night then."

"So what are we going to do today then?" Asked Dawn. "Connor and I need to be back home before dark."

"I've said before and I'll say it again." Said Ella. "Your sister is waaay too overprotective."

"Yeah, I know. But now moving on from how annoying my sister is, what are we planning to do today?"

"Bowling!" Yelled Luke suddenly. At everyone's confused looks he shrugged. "What? I'm good at bowling."

"Y'know, I've never been bowling before." Mused Connor.

"What?!" Exclaimed Theo in horror. "How is that possible?!"

Connor was very tempted to make a sarcastic comment about growing up in a hell dimension but at a look from Dawn, he resisted.

"Ferb, I know what we're gonna to today." Quoted Luke. "Echo can be on my team 'cause quite basically, she sucks at bowling."

"Mmm." Nodded Theo. "Like a straw."

"No, she doesn't." Said Lucy, sticking up for Lexi. "She just gets bored halfway through."

"Yeah, and then sabotages everyone else's turns!"

"Good point." Said Lucy. "We need to keep an eye on her."

"Ladies and gentlemen! A round of applause for Alexa Blake!"

The gang turned to where Lexi was performing to see her coming off the stage and walking towards them.

"Echo!" Yelled Luke. "We're going bowling!"

Lexi's face split into an evil grin.

"Great!" She said excitedly. "Bowling's always tons of fun!"


	5. Of Blue Candyfloss and Vampire Fights

**AN-** Hey! Here's the next chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying this! Thanks to **starophie** for reviewing the last chapter.

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Pretty depressing really.

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Night had fallen by the time the gang emerged from the Bowling Alley. In the end Luke had won thanks to Lexi's sabotaging. Despite the gang's best efforts, she had managed to grease the bowling balls with Lucy's lip gloss, making it impossible for the others to bowl properly. The alley had been filled with flying bowling balls and terrified screams. Dawn was surprised they hadn't been thrown out. She glanced around and yelped in shock.

"Connor! It's dark! We were meant to be home ages ago! Buffy's gonna kill me!"

"Relax." Giggled Lexi, who was high on sugar. Theo had bought her an extra large bag of candyfloss in hope that it would keep her from sabotaging the game. "Didn't you say Buffy was going to be gone all day? She probably won't be back yet."

Connor and Dawn exchanged wary glances.

"I don't know Lexi." Said Connor. "She'll probably send some of her friends out to find us."

"What, like those two girls this morning? Pshh! We could totally take them!"

"We probably couldn't." Said Dawn laughing at Lexi's hyper optimism.

"Well, maybe not in a fight but hey, let's stop fooling ourselves here, they weren't the brightest bulbs in the box. Theo could dazzle them with big words and math problems and then we could knock them out with bowling balls!"

Lexi performed a clumsy pirouette to punctuate her argument and tripped over the curb.

"Alright." Said Lucy helping her up. "This is the last time you are ever having candyfloss!"

"It was blue!" Squealed Lexi, sounding very much like a hyper child.

The gang burst into laughter, none of them noticing that the street had suddenly become practically empty. Connor stiffened slightly and glanced around warily. His improved senses could tell that someone was following them. He shot a meaningful glance at Dawn and she nodded.

"Guys maybe we should hurry up." She urged.

The gang looked slightly confused but hearing the urgency in Dawn's voice they quickened their pace noticeably.

"Let's go." Muttered Connor. "We need to get home."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening." Came a deep voice from the shadows. "You see, I'm kinda hungry tonight and a group of kiddies looks like the perfect meal."

"W-who's there?" Asked Theo, his voice trembling.

The owner of the voice stepped into the glare of the streetlight: It belonged to a young man in about his twenties. He grinned at the gang and started to walk towards them, like a predator stalking his prey.

"Can't hear a heartbeat." Whispered Connor into Dawn's ear. "He's a vamp."

She gulped and nodded. It had been a while since she had last staked a vampire and she wasn't sure if she wanted to drag her friends into this. To her utmost surprise, however, she saw that Luke, Lucy and Lexi had dropped into fighting stances. She glanced over at Connor only to see the same look of utter confusion etched into his features.

"I don't know who the hell you are." Said Luke. "But we ain't going down just 'cause you tell us to."

The vampire smirked.

"Looks like the kiddies got some game."

"Damn right." Said Lucy forcefully.

The vampire roared and charged towards them. Without a moments hesitation Lexi shoved Theo and Ella out of the way and performed a perfect somersault over his head. Luke and Lucy rolled out his path. Dawn just stared in shock. Here were her supposedly normal friends fighting a vampire!

"Dawn!" Yelled Ella. "Look out!"

Dawn looked up just in time to see the vampire's fist heading straight towards her face. She clenched her eyes shut and prepared for impact. To her surprise, however, it never came.

"Take a bite out of this, leech." Growled Connor.

Dawn opened her eyes to see that Connor had leapt at the vampire and knocked him away from her. The pair were wrestling ferociously on the floor. The vampire let out a bloodthirsty howl and his face transformed before their eyes.

"Holy Crap!" Exclaimed Luke in a horrified voice. "What the hell is that?!"

Luke's voice was enough to cause the distraction the vampire needed. In one swift movement, he sent a powerful kick into Connor's stomach and sent him flying into a wall. The gang watched in horror as Connor's body became motionless. The vampire stood up and smirked.

"Alright. Who's next?"

He ran towards Lexi and swung a punch. She ducked underneath it and delivered a spinning kick to his chest. The vampire stumbled back and growled. If Lexi was scared, she was doing a good job of hiding it. She kept her breathing even and leapt into another flurry of attacks. The vampire, however, was ready this time. He caught her punch with one hand while the other snaked out and tightened a death grip on her throat.

"You know, my mother always told me not to play with my food." He hissed. "But you've really pissed me off. Maybe you've noticed. I'm not your everyday murderer."

He squeezed Lexi throat tighter and she let out a strangled gasp. Dawn watched helplessly. She was suddenly reminded of the time Glory had taken her prisoner and she was forced to watch Buffy jump off that tower.

_"No."_ She thought. _"I am __**not**__ going to stand around helplessly this time."_

Her hands suddenly began to glow. She stared at them in confusion. Instinctively, she pointed them at the vampire and a beam of multi-coloured energy shot out, hitting him square in the chest. The look of surprise on his face was the last thing they saw before he collapsed into dust. Lexi dropped into the vampire's dusty remains, coughing heavily. As the gang started to run towards her, she held up her hands and pointed at Connor, telling them that he needed help first.

Dawn was the first one to reach their unconscious friend. She rolled him over so she could see his face.

"Is he alright?" Asked Theo. "That was one hell of a hit he took from that... Thing."

"I don't know." Said Dawn, worry evident in her voice. "There's a pretty big bump on his head."

"We need to get him inside." Said Ella. "Whose house is nearest?"

"Erm, that would be ours, I think." Said Luke. "Uncle Kurt's away for business all week so it's empty."

"Good." Said Lucy decisively. "Because I think we all need to talk. And that would probably be better without interruptions."

Ten minutes later, the whole gang was sitting in the twins' stylish apartment. Theo and Luke had managed to load Connor onto the bike and Luke had driven ahead. By the time the gang had arrived, he was struggling to get the unconscious teen up the stairs. It had taken a combined effort, but they eventually managed to get Connor onto the couch. Only for him to wake up moments later.

Dawn gulped. It was the moment of truth. She had no choice but to tell her friends about the true nature of Cleveland. She could only hope that they wouldn't scream and run like she knew she would if the roles were reversed. In the seat beside her, Connor sat up slightly straighter and readjusted the ice pack on his head.

"So." Began Lexi. "I don't really know how to ask this..."

"What the fucking hell was that?!" Yelled Luke. "Did you see his face?! It was all bumpy and fangy and-"

"It was a vampire wasn't it?" Interrupted Theo. "I always knew these things existed. I just kne-"

"OK! Guys!" Shouted Lucy. "It's obvious Connor and Dawn know what that thing was, so maybe we should let them talk instead of playing the guessing game!"

She gestured for Dawn to speak and shot a glare at Luke when he opened his mouth to argue.

"Theo was right." Said Dawn in a quiet voice. "That thing that attacked us was a vampire."

Her statement was met with various exclamations of shock, horror and disbelief.

"You mean vampires actually exist?" Asked Ella timidly.

Dawn nodded.

"And they just run round riot?"

"Actually, they don't." Said Dawn smiling. "Into every generation a girl is born with unbelievable power. They become what's known as the 'Slayer.' The Slayer is supposed to guard this thing called the Hellmouth and generally just fight all the big bads and nasties that come with it. When the Slayer dies, her power is passed onto another potential slayer. Or at least that was the case until recently."

"Wait, I'm confused." Interrupted Luke. "Where do you two fit into this? Dawn, you're obviously not the slayer otherwise you would have jumped right into the fight and Connor, you're a guy."

"Yes." Answered Connor sarcastically. "Well done Luke"

"What Luke means is, you can't be the slayer 'cause you're a guy." Explained Ella, chuckling.

"Luke's right." Said Dawn. "I'm not the Slayer. My sister, Buffy, is. Well, I guess now she's _a_ slayer. Not _the_."

"Anyone else confused?" Asked Lexi. "If so say aye."

"There only used to be one Slayer." Explained Dawn. "But in the last big battle my sister's friend, Willow, used magic to turn all the potential Slayers into fully fledged Slayers. That's what that building is that Connor and I live at. It's the Slayer HQ."

"That's who those girls were." Said Lexi, comprehension finally dawning on her. "They were Slayers."

"Yeah, they're on my sister's patrolling squad." Said Dawn, shrugging. "They think that anyone who's not a Slayer shouldn't be involved with the supernatural. They treat me and Connor like children."

"Oh, good point. What about Connor?" Asked Theo.

"What about me?"

"You obviously have some part to play in all of this." Said Lucy.

"I'm the son of two vampires."

Connor glanced around at the gang who had suddenly fallen silent.

"Right." Said Lexi finally. "Well, I didn't see that one coming."

"Do you drink blood?" Asked Luke enthusiastically. "'Cause I bet

it tastes like crap."

Lucy sighed and slapped Luke round the back of the head.

"Ow! Lucy!"

"No, Luke. I don't drink blood." Chuckled Connor. "I inherited my parents' vampire powers though. I just don't go all 'fangy' as you put it."

"What was that thing that killed the vampire?" Asked Theo suddenly. "The beam that shot out of Dawn's hand."

"We don't actually know." Said Dawn, exchanging a look with Connor. "I have a theory but I don't know for sure."

"Well, let's hear it then." Said Lucy, leaning forward. "My night couldn't get much weirder."

"Originally, I was a glowing green ball of energy called the Key."

"OK, really people!" Exclaimed Lexi. "You two need to stop with the ominous statements!"

"So you're not human?" Asked Theo in confusion.

"No, I am. A couple of years ago, a hell god named Glory was after the Key. So these monks turned it in to the form of a human girl and sent it to the Slayer to protect. That was me. After Buffy stopped Glory, we all thought that the Key no longer had a use and I was just a normal kid. I think that energy beam had something to do with my Key-ness."

"Well, that would make sense." Mused Theo. "You said that the Key was pure energy? That doesn't just go away. My best guess is that you've developed the ability to direct some of this energy. Hence the damn cool laser beam."

"That is cool." Admitted Dawn. "But Buffy still won't let me patrol with her. Super Key powers or not. It sucks 'cause I really want to help and she seems to think that I can't."

"Then don't tell her." Said Lexi suddenly. "Just patrol anyway."

At everyone's shocked expressions, she shrugged.

"What? Don't tell me you're not thinking it. I'm not talking about her fighting evil by herself. I want to help too."

"Lexi, I don't think you realise how dangerous this is." Said Dawn. "You don't know what these things are capable of."

"A random person could walk past me in a street and I wouldn't know what they're capable of. For all I know, they could be serial killers or rapists. Now you're telling me that all the things I had nightmares about as a kid are actually very real and you just expect me to sit around, while they're out slaughtering people? We have a chance to do something! I can hold my own in a fight, you don't need to worry about that but I want to help. Hell, I _can_ help!"

"I think Lexi speaks for all of us when she says that." Said Theo, looking around at the gang for conformation. "We all want to help. Luke, Lucy and Lexi are all trained in martial arts, Ella's trained in first aid and I'm a pretty good researcher. Add your awesome laser beams and Connor's vampire-ness and we've got ourselves a pretty good team."

"Yeah, Dawn." Said Lucy. "You can't just tell us all of this and not expect us to do something. I'm surprised you and Connor have lasted this long without going absolutely nuts!"

Dawn smiled to herself. She had honestly thought that the gang would have freaked out when she told them the truth. Now, knowing that not only were they going to stick by Connor and herself, they were going to help fight the evil that plagued the streets of Cleveland made her feel warm inside.

"OK, you can help. There's a few problems we have to deal with though." She said. "Buffy has Slayers patrolling everywhere. If we're seen, then we're all going to be in so much trouble. Also, demons and vampires gossip. There's a chance they could give our names to the Slayers."

"Pshh!" Exclaimed Luke. "That's not a problem! Surely the Slayers must have some sort of patrolling timetable. Either you or Connor just need to snag that and then we'll know which areas to avoid. As for the name thing, we'll just use codenames."

Everyone stared at Luke in shock. He glanced around uneasily.

"What?"

"Holy Crap." Said Lexi slowly. "Luke, that was actually smart!"

"And it made sense!" Squealed Ella.

"Hmph." Sniffed Luke. "I have my moments."

"Alright, codenames then." Said Connor chuckling. "Who's who?"

"Well Lexi's obvious." Said Lucy. "She's already Echo."

"Mmm." Nodded Lexi. "Only Luke calls me that so no-one else will know it's me."

"Ella should be Althea." Mused Theo.

"Excuse me, Al-what?"

"Althea." Explained Theo. "It's the Greek name for healer."

"Hey." Said Ella excitedly. "That sounds pretty cool."

"Theo should be called Alder." Said Lexi.

Connor stared at her in confusion.

"Why are we naming Theo after a tree?"

"That is a good question." Said Theo, also staring at Lexi as if she had lost her mind.

"The Celtic symbolic meaning for the alder tree is endurance, strength and passion. I thought it suited Theo quite well. There's also the whole Tree of Knowledge thing. And c'mon you have to admit, Theo would make a pretty cute tree." She explained.

"I kinda like it." Said Dawn. "It does suit him."

"So that just leaves Dawn, Luke, Connor and Lucy." Said Ella

"I could always be the Destroyer again." Said Connor.

"No, that wouldn't work." Said Dawn, shaking her head. "The Slayers already know about you being the Destroyer. They'd figure it out instantly."

"What about Cougar?" Suggested Lucy. "Aren't they supposed to represent independence, courage and power? Let's face it. That fits you pretty well."

"A cougar's a mountain lion isn't it?" Asked Ella.

"Yeah, it is." Murmured Connor. "OK, I'm Cougar. I think Luke should be Libra."

"As in the star sign? The scales?"

"Yeah, he is the one that keeps the gang in balance. Without him we'd all be at each other's throats."

"So true." Sniffed Luke. "It's nice to know that I'm finally being appreciated. Thank you Connor. Now I know why you're my favourite."

"Aw, Luke!" Whined Lexi playfully. "I thought I was your favourite."

Luke just grinned and stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"Alright." Said Dawn, giggling at the twins' display. "Moving on. We should go back to the animal meanings for Lucy."

"What about Canary?" Suggested Theo. "They're connected with freedom and sensitivity."

"Sensitivity?" Snorted Luke in disbelief. At Lucy's death glare, he had the good sense not to continue that train of thought.

"Plus." Continued Theo ignoring Luke's outburst. "There's also the fact that you're blonde. That ties in with a canary quite nicely."

"Canary." Said Lucy, rolling the name around her mouth. "That sounds good."

"Just Dawn left now." Mused Ella.

Dawn shifted in her seat nervously. She had no idea what name the gang would pick for her. There wasn't really anything that she could think of that represented her.

"Any ideas?" Asked Lucy.

"Sunrise." Said Connor quietly. "Because she's beautiful like the morning sun."

"What was that Connor? Speak up mate."

Ella glanced at Connor curiously having heard what he had said.

"I said Sunrise." Said Connor hurriedly. "Because it ties in with her name."

Ella sighed. It was obvious Connor really liked Dawn. She had already made it her personal rule not to meddle in people's lives but she would if he didn't tell her how he felt soon.

"I like Sunrise." Said Dawn smiling. She hadn't expected to get such a perfect name. She was even more surprised it had come from Connor.

She glanced round at the gang and smiled. Althea, Libra, Cougar, Alder, Echo and Canary were all sitting on the couch opposite her. The newly christened Sunrise stood up.

"Maybe we can make a difference." She thought to herself. "Something tells me that this is going to be one _hell_ of a ride!"

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**AN-** Now the action really starts! Please tell me what you think!


	6. Of Mall Crawls and Hot Guys on Bikes

**AN-** Hey! Sorry for taking so long to update. Thanks to **starophie **for reviewing the last chapter. It's really great to hear feedback from the people reading so please review! Anyway, a new character is introduced in this chapter so it would be great to hear what everyone thinks of him. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any characters from the show. I'm not that lucky.

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"Guys." Whined Lexi. "It's five in the morning. Where could you possibly want to go at this God awful time?"

"Suck it up Lexi." Said Lucy. "We need costumes."

"Huh?"

Lucy had been woken up that morning by a phone call from Dawn, saying that they needed disguises if they were going to go out slaying. Thrilled at the welcome opportunity for a mall crawl, the blonde had called up Ella and the three of them had dragged Lexi out of bed. Unfortunately, the Scottish girl was still half asleep and hadn't fully understood why three determined girls were standing at her front door.

"Costumes." Elaborated Dawn. "It suddenly struck me last night that if we were spotted by Slayers, they'd be able to recognise us."

"Dawn, it practically is last night still. So, what. We're going to dress up like superhero wannabees?"

"I was thinking more leather." Said Lucy scrunching her nose up at the sudden image of the guys in tights.

"Yeah." Agreed Dawn. "Besides, it was your idea to have a girls' day out."

"Night! I said a girls' night out! I didn't expect you do come round at some unearthly time to go to the mall!"

"C'mon Lexi." Said Ella, slinging her arm around Lexi's shoulder. "We get to choose costumes and fight crime. You can't say that's not cool!"

"Hey, over here!"

They rushed over to Lucy who was standing outside a small shop. Dawn glanced at the manikins in the window and grinned. They were all wearing some sort of leather clothing.

"Perfect."

..............................................

"What about this one?"

Lucy emerged from the changing room and spun around to show the others her chosen leather jacket.

"I liked the last one better." Said Dawn scrunching up her nose.

"Yeah." Agreed Ella. "That one was nicer."

"What do you think Lexi?"

"That you take forever to choose clothes."

Lexi had chosen her costume and was currently sitting upside down on the bench next to Dawn.

"I mean, how long does it take? Dawn's still got to choose hers."

"I think someone's a bit grouchy." Teased Lucy.

"Well, what do you expect?" Scowled Lexi. "You drag me out of bed at five in the morning and then make me sit around for an hour while you try on clothes!"

"OK." Said Lucy holding her hands up in surrender. "I'll go with the last one. Dawn, you're up."

Dawn grabbed her clothes that she had chosen and dashed into the changing room. She held up the hangers and scrutinised the leather jackets hanging from them. The girls of the gang had all chosen a colour that would represent them. Dawn was green, Lexi was blue, Lucy was yellow and Ella was purple. They had decided that they would all wear different black leather jackets but they would wear an item of clothing their colour somewhere on their costumes. It would be easier to identify each other in battle.

The girls eventually left the store laden with shopping bags. They had decided to go for the full works and had bought plenty of low tops and tight fitting trousers. It was to, as Lucy put it: "Distract the vamps."

"Are you guys excited?" Asked Ella. "First patrol tonight."

"Mmm." Nodded Lucy. "I just hope we don't run into any Slayers. I don't think I'm ready to deal with them just yet."

"Don't worry." Reassured Dawn. "Luke was right. The Slayers do have a patrolling timetable. Connor pinched it last night so we know which areas to avoid."

"Awesomeness." Said Lexi gleefully. "This is gonna rock!"

"HEY! WATCH OUT!"

The girls all gasped in shock as a young man on a bicycle swerved out of control and ploughed into Lexi. The impact sent them both flying through the air and crashing to the ground.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Exclaimed Lexi angrily when she had recovered from the shock. She had been sent sprawling across the pavement on her back and the young man had landed on top of her. "Do you normally ride around on your bike like a lunatic and try to put innocent pedestrians into hospital?! You should be locked up and fined an- Holy crap, you're hot."

Lexi inhaled a sharp breath as she took in the young man's appearance. His sparkling light blue eyes bore into hers and his rugged face grinned sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry!" He stuttered. "I lost control. Are you hurt?"

Lexi shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. Always a plus to get knocked over by a hot guy on a bike."

"Always a plus to knock over a pretty girl with my bike." Joked the guy. "Helps get their attention. I'm Clayton Hunt. Clay for short."

"Alexa Blake." Said Lexi, shaking his outstretched hand. "Lexi for short. Pleasure to meet you."

"Same here." Grinned Clay.

"Erm." Began Lexi awkwardly. "Do you think maybe you could, y'know... Let me up?"

She gestured at herself and drew attention to the fact that she was still pinned to the ground by Clay.

"Oh, yeah sure." Said Clay hurriedly standing up and offering her a hand. "Sorry."

"No problem." Said Lexi. "It wasn't that bad actually."

She cringed at her words and shot a sheepish glance at Clay.

"That came out wrong."

"Don't worry about it." Laughed Clay. "It wasn't too bad for me either."

"Lexi!"

Lexi and Clay turned to see Dawn, Lucy and Ella running towards them.

"That looked like it really hurt!" Exclaimed Lucy. "Are you OK?"

At Lexi's nod, she rounded on Clay.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you usually ride around in an attempt to run over girls?!"

"Only the pretty ones." Clay joked.

He grinned at Lexi's slight smile but it soon vanished at Lucy, Dawn and Ella's thunderous glares.

"It was a joke." He mumbled.

"Lexi, are you sure you're alright?" Asked Dawn worriedly.

"Yeah guys, I'm fine." She answered, sharing a small smile with Clay. It was not lost on Ella who filed it away for future reference.

"Well, I have somewhere to be now." Said Clay, picking up his bike. "It was really great meeting you Lexi. I'd like to run into you again sometime."

"Same here." Blushed Lexi. "Hopefully in a less painful way."

"Hopefully." Grinned Clay as he started to ride away.

Lexi watched him go with a slight smile playing on her face.

"Typical." Muttered Lucy. "Even when she gets knocked over by a bike, Lexi still meets all the hot guys."

.........................................................................................................

"Anyone know when the girls will be back?"

Theo, Connor and Luke were all lounging around the twins' apartment. After the girls had dragged Lexi out the front door, Luke had called the guys and invited them round.

"Nope." Said Luke. "They're out shopping with Lucy. They'll be a while."

"Apparently they went out to buy costumes for patrolling." Said Connor. "That's what Dawn screamed at me before she left this morning."

"Don't we need costumes as well then?" Asked Theo. "I mean, the Slayers are just as likely to recognise us."

"Pshh. Details, details." Said Luke. "Shopping with Lucy is one of the most painful tortures known to mankind. Me, being the noble and kind friend that I am, decided to save you all from that fate."

"He's right." Agreed Connor. "I don't know about Lucy, but Dawn can take forever to choose clothes. Shopping with the both of them would certainly be a fate worse than death. Besides, we don't need costumes. If we just sling on a leather jacket and a pair of black sunglasses, the Slayers'll never know it's us!"

"You sure they'll fall for that?" Asked Theo doubtfully.

"Hey, let's face it." Snorted Connor. "Some of them aren't too smart. One even thought that a parallelogram was a type of fruit. As long as we don't run into Buffy, Faith or Kennedy we'll be fine."

"It's kinda exciting." Commented Luke. "I never thought that I'd actually get to use my martial arts training for something useful."

"Speaking of your martial arts training." Said Connor frowning slightly. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Luke's eyes fell to the floor and he shot Connor a sad smile.

"After my mum and dad died, Lexi insisted that we learn to fight." He answered finally. "This guy tried to mug them and ended up shooting them both."

"Oh God." Mumbled Connor feeling slightly sick.

"Yeah." Agreed Luke quietly. "I was at a friend's house and they went to pick Lexi up from guitar lessons. She watched it happen. It took her a long time to get over it. She hated that feeling of being helpless so she persuaded Uncle Kurt to pay for martial arts lessons. We were four when it happened."

"That's horrible." Said Connor, feeling a wave of sympathy for the twins. "I can't imagine how that must have been for her."

"It was scary." Luke admitted. "Lexi I mean. To see her retreat that far into herself..." He shook his head as if to shake the distressing memories from his mind. He looked up and shot a small smile at Connor and Theo. "Lexi's all I have left, besides Uncle Kurt who's never really here, and it would kill me if anything happened to her y'know."

"The origin of Lucy's fighting skills is a lot less depressing." Interrupted Theo, sensing the need for a subject change. "She's a cheerleader so she can already do all the flippy things. Luke taught her to fight in an effort to spend some quality alone time with her."

"That's not true!" Spluttered Luke. "She wanted to learn how to fight so I taught her! There were no deep feelings involved!"

Connor laughed at Luke's incredulous expression and decided to tease him a bit further.

"Luke stop fooling yourself. We all know you get a sudden thrill whenever she slaps you round the back of the head."

"NO NO! That's not true!"

Theo and Connor collapsed into laughter at Luke's protesting.

"Hey." Said Connor suddenly. "It's almost dark. We should probably get ready."

"Yeah." Agreed Luke, a thrill of excitement running up his spine. "Let's go slay some vamps!"


	7. Of Rollcalls and Stuckup Slayers

**AN-** Hey guys! Sorry for the huge delay. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I got a new laptop so I've had to move all my folders around. Also, for all the people who are waiting on Mutation to be updated, I'm really sorry for taking so long. I've had major writer's block and it just wouldn't flow. But don't worry! My friend Ruthie G 8 has offered to help me out and we should have the next chapter up soon.

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Damn, I don't know how many times I've said that.

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Dawn plunged her stake deep into the chest of the huge vampire she had been fighting. He let out a bloodcurdling roar and burst into a cloud of dust. She smiled, the warm glow of satisfaction spreading through her body.

The gang had been slaying for a few months now. Already the demons were beginning to talk of the mysterious group of freelance demon hunters that were causing their numbers to decrease rapidly. The news had yet to reach Slayer HQ but Dawn knew that it wouldn't be long before the Slayers in training started to hear the gossip.

"Sunrise!"

Dawn glanced up as Lexi jumped over her head and threw a stake into the heart of the vampire that had been trying to catch her unawares. Dawn grinned gratefully at her friend and was struck once again, by how different the gang looked in costume.

Dawn's short, waist high leather jacket fit her perfectly, showing off the curves of her body and making her look ten times older then she actually was. Lexi had gone for a full length leather trench coat which complimented her perfect figure and still managed to hide all her weapons. Lucy's jacket went down to her knees and the blonde cheerleader had managed to add yellow material to the insides of the sleeves. Ella's jacket was the same length as Dawn's but hers was made out of black denim opposed to leather. The girls had also applied thick black eye make-up to make it difficult for people to recognise their faces. They had stuck to their colour idea and during one of Lucy's mall crawls, they had found different coloured hair extensions.

Luke and Connor, true to their word, just wore black leather jackets and sunglasses. Originally, Theo had patrolled with the gang but after he had been knocked out by a particularly large demon, he had decided it was safer to be the "research guy." He had gone out and bought the gang ear-pieces so he could get in touch with them whenever they were away slaying.

"Sunrise, this is Alder. Come in Sunrise."

Dawn glanced up and touched her ear-piece lightly.

"Sunrise here. Is something wrong?"

She could hear the urgency in Theo's voice and felt a sick feeling growing in her stomach.

"Depends on your point of view." Came Theo's tinny reply. "We screwed up the timetable. I've only just noticed it now but there's supposed to be a squad of Slayers heading your way. You guys need to get out of there now."

"Shit." Breathed Dawn.

Lexi glanced up and shot a curious look at Dawn.

"Slayers are patrolling this area tonight." Dawn explained. "Theo mucked up the timetable."

"How much time do we have?" Asked Lexi, her face paling at the news.

"Not long." Came Theo's answer. "They should be arriving any minute."

"Oh, that's not good." Groaned Lexi. "We need to find the others and get out of here."

"Agreed. Alder, can you patch us through to the rest of the gang? They're patrolling at the other end of the graveyard."

"Can do Sunrise. OK guys, roll call."

"Sunrise here."

"Echo here."

"Cougar here."

"Libra alive and kicking."

"Canary here."

"Althea here."

"What's the big deal guys?" Asked Luke through the ear-piece.

"We have a situation." Explained Theo. "A squad of Slayers are approaching your location. You need to get out of there now."

"Right." Came Connor's voice. "Everyone move!"

"Meet back at our apartment." Ordered Lexi.

There were many murmurs of agreement as the gang quickly made a hasty retreat. Dawn turned to Lexi and was about to say something, when she was suddenly interrupted by a shrill scream. Lexi shot an alarmed glance at Dawn and the pair took off, racing towards the source of the noise.

They rounded the corner and the sight of a large vampire sinking his fangs into a young girl's neck, met their eyes. Lexi growled and launched herself into the vamp, knocking him away from his meal. Dawn raced towards the girl who was slowly losing consciousness and shook her shoulders.

"OK, you need to stay awake." She said urgently. "I need you to get out of here."

"W-who a-are y-you?"

"That's not important. Can you walk?"

A yell of pain interrupted the girl's answer and Dawn looked up in horror.

"Echo!"

Lexi had been thrown into a marble headstone and was struggling to get to her feet. Dawn stood up and shot a blast of energy at the vampire, who had been stalking towards her friend. The vampire exploded in a cloud of dust and showered the Scottish girl in a thin layer of vampire.

"Phew." Said Lexi, jumping to her feet and dusting herself off. "Y'know, that never gets old."

The girl was staring at the pair with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" Her voice was less shaky now and held a defiant tone.

Lexi fixed the girl with an amused look and took an exaggerated mock bow.

"Echo and Sunrise at your service."

Dawn elbowed Lexi in the ribs and glared at her. She bent down and offered the girl a hand up.

"It's pretty dangerous out here at night." She warned. "Wandering graveyards probably isn't the safest hobby."

The girl's face turned hard and she glared at Dawn and Lexi.

"I can take care of myself." She growled.

"Obviously." Said Lexi sarcastically. "That's why we had to pull a vampire off of you after it took a chunk out of your neck."

"You're a Slayer." Murmured Dawn, catching sight of a wooden stake that the girl had dropped.

"And you two are freelancers." Spat the girl.

Dawn sighed. Obviously she was one of the "normal people can't fight" believers.

"Where's the rest of your squad?" Asked Dawn in confusion.

"Hey! I'm the one asking the questions here!" Scowled the girl. "Who are you and how do you know we patrol in squads?"

"Common sense, dumb-ass." Sighed Lexi. "I'm guessing they wouldn't let incompetents, like you, hunt vamps on their own. I bet you got separated from your Slayer buds and then ambushed by our dusty friend. Am I right?"

Lexi grinned gleefully at the Slayer's stony face.

"I am right aren't I? Don't worry, it happens to everyone."

Dawn shook her head at Lexi's playful antics.

"We've already told you our names." She told the Slayer. "And you've figured out that we're freelancers. There's nothing really left to tell you."

"Sunrise and Echo?" Asked the Slayer sarcastically. "Those are your real names?"

"God, I hope not." Commented Lexi. "If so, our parents must have hated us!"

The Slayer was about to reply when the sudden sound of her name being called out across the deadly silent graveyard caught her attention.

"That must be the rest of your patrolling squad." Noted Dawn. "We should probably go."

She started to run towards the gates and motioned for Lexi to hurry up. Lexi waved to the Slayer and quoted a line from one of her favourite movies.

"You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Ech-"

The quote remained incomplete as the young Scottish girl tripped over a headstone. She sat up and glared at the offending object.

"Some things have no sense in decent movies." She sniffed.

The Slayer watched in a mixture of amusement and burning curiosity as the two mysterious girls disappeared into the night. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the rest of her squad bursting out of the shadows. The Slayer was ambushed by the worried squeals of her teammates. She cringed as Kennedy, her squad leader, pushed to the front of the group.

"Where the hell did you disappear off to?" She snarled angrily. "We've wasted a good hour looking for you! You could have been seriously hurt!"

The Slayer opened her mouth to explain but Kennedy held up her hand to cut her off.

"Save your explanation for when we get back to HQ. There's no vampires out tonight anyway. Let's go and this time stay together!"

She shook her head and led the Slayers towards the exit. Her squad followed silently, all slightly bitter that the opportunity for slaying had escaped them.

"Well, that was rather interesting." Commented a voice from the shadows.

A figure stepped into the light and smiled at his companion. A sleek black cloak swept down from his shoulders, engulfing him in a dark shadow. The top half of his deathly pale face was hidden by a hood, showing only his mouth which was twisted into a cruel smirk.

"A Slayer saved by the ones she protects."

His companion joined him at his side and glanced up at his face. The moonlight shone off her incredibly pale skin and her long raven hair hung past her waist. She wore a gothic dress that hugged her perfect figure and her gleaming red eyes devoured the scene.

"Cassius." Her voice floated through the air like an eerie melody. "Why are you so obsessed with the group of children? Surely the Slayers are a greater threat?"

Cassius turned to face the young woman and stroked her deadly white cheek.

"That is what most assume. An army of young girls, each armed with the strength and courage of lions. But the Slayers are not willing participants in this war. The group of children have chosen to fight. They display true strength and that is what makes them the greater threat."

The woman cocked her head slightly and considered his words.

"They have much potential." Smirked Cassius. "They could be our downfall."

The woman hissed.

"Hush Bianca." Soothed Cassius. "Do not let your temper get the better of you. The children will need to be taken care of. We cannot let anything come between us and our goal."

A slow, evil smile crept across Bianca's face and her blood red eyes glistened in anticipation.

"I know just the demon." She snarled. "They do not know what they have let themselves in for."

"Good." Murmured Cassius. "We must not allow the children to reach their full potential. Otherwise our plan is doomed. Come now. We have business to attend to."

Cassius retreated into the shadows, his cloak billowing behind him. Bianca let her eyes roam around the silent graveyard once more before following her companion into the darkness. They would not fail.


	8. Of Plots and Birds with French Fries

**AN- Okay, first of all I want to apologise for taking so long to update. I could offer you excuses but it wouldn't really do any good. So I really am sorry and thanks for not forgetting about this fic. I hope you guys enjoy.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and no matter what my friends tell you, I do not have Spike locked in my wardrobe. He escaped when I was down in London.**

* * *

"And then this vamp bit down into my neck and started draining my blood. I could feel my life-force ebbing away. I won't lie to you. I thought I was going to die, right there, right then."

Dawn rubbed her eyes sleepily and wandered into the kitchen. A group of Slayers were gathered round the table and were listening intently to a girl sitting in the middle. Dawn quickly recognised her as the Slayer from the previous night and rolled her eyes. No doubt she was spinning some incredibly; unbelievable tale and the other girls were lapping it up. She reached over to the coffee machine and poured herself a mug.

"Then what happened?" Urged one of the girls. "Did Kennedy turn up and beat the crap out of him?"

"No, even better." All the girls leaned forward eagerly. "There I was, losing all hope. Thinking that I'd never see my family or friends again when suddenly these two girls appear. Now one of them launches herself at the vamp and they both go flying across the graveyard and start fighting, the other one runs up to me and helps me get up. I'm like, "who are you?" so the girl opens her mouth to tell me, when suddenly the vampire throws her friend into a marble headstone. The girl yells out to her friend, who is struggling to stand up, and points her hands at the vamp. Now I'm lying there thinking, "OK, no matter how much you point at it, it's not gonna die. You have to stake it," then these energy beams come shooting out of her hands and blows the vamp to smithereens!"

The girls all shared a look of amazement and awe. Dawn smirked into her coffee. Here they were, discussing these two mysterious freelancers and not even realising that one of them was standing in the same room. The irony was almost too much.

"What did they look like?" Asked one of the girls. "Did you see their faces?"

"No. They were wearing really heavy eye makeup, so I couldn't really tell who they were. They wore lots of leather though and they said that their names were Sunrise and Echo."

"What did Kennedy say?"

The Slayer grinned sheepishly.

"She screamed at me for getting separated from the squad and then dragged me up to see Buffy, who also screamed at me."

"Did you tell her about the freelancers?"

"Yep." The Slayer nodded. "She said it explained why there have been fewer vamps around. I think she's gonna launch an investigation into it."

Dawn froze and stared at the group of girls in shock. She knew that there was no way the gang could be connected to the freelancers but she couldn't stop the nervous shiver from running up her spine. If Buffy found out that not only had Dawn ignored her orders and started slaying, but had also dragged a group of civilians into all of this as well, there would be hell to pay.

She drained her mug and rapidly exited the kitchen. Dawn decided to head back up to the room she shared with Buffy and interrogate her older sister on her plans about the freelancers. Too absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice Connor coming the other way.

"Dawn!"

She glanced up nervously and relaxed when she caught sight of her fellow freelancer.

"What the hell did you and Lexi do last night?" He hissed. "The entire HQ is buzzing about these two mysterious girls! What part of retreat did you not understand?!"

"It wasn't our fault." Dawn protested. "We couldn't just leave her there to die!"

"I know but you could have been slightly more subtle! You practically screamed your names at her! Why didn't you just give her your phone number while you were at it?!"

"I'm sorry! Things just got slightly out of hand and-"

Dawn's plea for forgiveness was suddenly cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Connor and Dawn spun round in fright and came face to face with Faith.

"Now, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for why you two are standing in the middle of the corridor, screaming your heads off." She said, a smirk playing on her face. "I'd ask for it, but something tells me I'd regret it later."

Dawn and Connor stared at Faith in shock as she swaggered away from them.

"Don't you guys have school today anyway?"

The pair shared an alarmed glance and Connor swore under his breath.

"I can't believe we forgot!" Hissed Dawn. "Hurry up! The bus is going to be here any minute!"

* * *

Dawn groaned as she followed Ella out of their Maths classroom.

"Maths is so pointless!" She exclaimed in disgust. "Why do we need to learn some of this stuff? I mean, come on! We're never gonna use any of this in later life. For example, straight line graphs. Why do you need to draw a graph to get a straight line? That's what a ruler's for!"

Ella chuckled at Dawn's passionate rant.

"You make a good point." She said. "They should teach us something useful. Like how to slay vampires!"

"Yes!" Squealed Dawn. "We live on a Hellmouth people! We need to learn how to defend ourselves!"

"Slaying 101" Said Lucy coming up behind them. "I can see it now..."

"Sounds fun." Commented Lexi, joining the group. "Beats French any day."

The girls giggled and started towards the lockers. Lexi hummed happily under her breath, causing Lucy to shoot her an odd look.

"What's with the humming?"

"Nothing." Said Lexi shrugging. "I've just decided that today I will be happier than a bird with a French fry."

She received more than one odd look at that statement.

"What?"

"A bird with a French fry?" Asked Ella. "Do we even want to know?"

"You'd be happy too if you spent your life eating worms and happened to come across a French fry." Explained Lexi in a defensive manner.

"Oh yes. Joy. Saturated fat in a squishy potato form." Said Dawn, rolling her eyes.

"Just out of curiosity." Began Lexi. "Why do American people call them French fries? It's not as if they're from France. Back home we called them chi- OW!"

Too caught up in her conversation, Lexi didn't see the metal locker door swinging open until it was too late. She smacked her face off of it and found herself sprawled across the floor.

"Oh shit!" Came the voice from behind the door. "I'm so sorry!"

A familiar face slammed the door shut and ran to help Lexi up. Lexi glanced up at the culprit and grinned when she saw who it was.

"Clay."

"Lexi?" Clay smirked and offered her a hand up. "Y'know, I'm beginning to think that someone out there really wants us to get together."

"Or someone out there really wants me in hospital." Quipped Lexi.

"That could be a possibility. It's really good to see you again Lexi."

"Same here." Said Lexi, smiling shyly.

"Uh oh." Said Clay suddenly. "Here come your friends. I don't think they like me very much."

Lexi glanced over at Dawn, Ella and Lucy.

"That's not true. They like you."

"You!" Exclaimed Lucy as she caught sight of Clay. "What in God's name are you doing here?!"

Lexi turned to Clay and shrugged.

"Well, you did run me over with a bike. I think they're entitled to some hatin'."

"Was running her over once not enough for you?!" Asked Dawn incredulously. "Decide to follow her to school and finish the job?"

"Actually, I just moved here. This is my first day at Cleveland High."

"Oh... Well, that's still no excuse! You've been here five minutes and already sent Lexi flying down the corridor!"

"So." Said Lexi, after shooting an odd look at Dawn. "Considering this is your first day here, would you object to me showing you around?"

"Not at all." Said Clay, offering his arm to Lexi. "I should really smack my locker door into other girls if it's going to get me attention like this."

Lexi laughed slightly, took his arm and then fixed him with a steely glare.

"Please don't. It kinda hurts."

* * *

Bianca swept through the huge stone archway that led to the underground cavern of her demonic contact. Cassius had assigned her the task of finding a way to destroy the gang. He was convinced that they were a threat. Personally, Bianca couldn't see it.

The tunnels grew darker and colder as Bianca made her way to her destination. Soon all natural light was gone and was replaced by glowing torches, casting sinister shadows on the wall. Bianca smirked. She had always preferred the dark, even when she had been a pathetic human. It was comforting. Made her feel powerful.

"Bianca! To what do I owe this... surprise?"

Bianca emerged into the cavern and cast a wary eye over the huge humanoid creature sitting in a large chair in the centre. His green scaly skin glimmered in the light of the torches and he examined the gothic woman with his golden, cat-like eyes.

"Duane." Greeted Bianca. "I am here on Cassius's behalf. He has a... Business proposition for you."

Duane straightened up and leant towards her so his face was only inches away.

"Really. How... Interesting."

His breath washed over Bianca's face and the smell of rotting meat filled her nostrils.

"What kind of business?"

"We have encountered a problem in our plan. Well, a group of problems really." Answered Bianca.

"The Slayers? Bianca, you know I don't have the means to dispose of them."

"I do know that Duane. That's why I came to you." Bianca smirked. "The Slayers do not pose a threat to us. If they did I would have gone to one of the others. No, our problem takes the form of a group of teenaged freelancers. Cassius thinks that they will be the ones to thwart us."

"Teenagers Bianca? I know that I'm not the most powerful Lord, but asking me to send my people after teenagers? Maybe Cassius is too wrapped up in his dream to see the real problem."

"Do not mock us!" Hissed Bianca. "If Cassius thinks that these freelancers are a threat then they most definitely are! He expects you to do something about it!"

Duane held his huge hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Alright. I will take care of these children. Cassius's dream is one to be respected. I'm sorry if I offended him. You both know how my people work however. They take less aggressive routes than the other Lords'. It will take time, but the freelancers will no longer be a problem."

"Good. Do not fail us."

Duane watched as the dark woman swept out of his cavern. He sat in silence for a moment before summoning an underling.

"Fetch Farouk. I have a job for him."


	9. Of Fairy Siblings and Demon Teachers

**AN- Hey! This chapter was originally a lot longer but I decided to split it into two, post this half up and finish writing the end later. This is where the action finally kicks in! Anyway, a huge thanks to all of you who have continued reading this fic and I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am writing it. And thank you sooo much to the people who review, it's great to her people's thoughts on your work. Now! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I have replaced Spike (who was previously living in my wardrobe) with Dean Winchester. Yays! (Never fear, Spike shall not escape...)**

* * *

Sweat ran down Faith's face as she delivered another flurry of ferocious blows to the heavy punching bag that hung from the ceiling. The dark Slayer found her thoughts drifting back to Dawn and Connor's mysterious behaviour that morning. There was no doubt that they were up to something and even though Faith was completely clueless to what it was, she couldn't help feeling slightly proud of the two 'normal' kids. Faith snorted. If Dawn and Connor were normal, she was Tinkerbell's long lost sister.

"Something funny Faith?"

Faith glanced up to see the petite blonde Slayer standing in the doorway. She grinned at Buffy and leaned back against the punching bag.

"Hey B. Just contemplating if I was part fairy."

Faith received an extremely disturbed look from the older Slayer and it took all she had not to start cracking up at the expression on Buffy's face.

"Right. I really don't know how to respond to that."

Faith burst out laughing and soon Buffy found herself joining in.

"Seriously though B." Said Faith wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. "Have you noticed anything weird about D and Angel Jr lately? Something seems...I dunno, different."

Buffy frowned slightly. While it was true that Dawn and her hadn't spent any real time together, she could tell something had changed in her sister. At first she had shrugged it off as nothing but now that Faith had mentioned it, she had to admit that some things didn't add up. For example, Dawn was with Connor practically every second of the day, she was never seen around the HQ anymore and her room was always deadly silent at night. There were thousands of other details the blonde Slayer could have listed. Why hadn't she noticed them before? It then suddenly struck her that she didn't know anything about Dawn's life in Cleveland. Ever since they had moved, Buffy had been too wrapped up in Slayer business to even bother asking her sister about school. She stared wide-eyed at Faith.

"I've not even met any of her friends!" She gasped. "For all we know they could be vampires or demons or God knows what else!"

Faith watched in a mixture of bemusement and shock as the older Slayer ran from the room.

"Or." She smirked. "They could just be a group of normal teenagers."

* * *

"Hiiiiiyaaaaa! Take that you Cullen Wannabee!"

Luke grinned as he watched his twin land a spinning kick in her opponent's face. The vampire roared in rage and charged towards Lexi. The twins had offered to take the patrol that night and were enjoying every second of it.

"OOOF."

Well, almost every second. Lexi was sent flying backwards by the vampire's powerful attack and crashed into a headstone. Luke winced and raced into action. Grabbing a stake from his jacket pocket, he stabbed the vampire in the back before the leech could sink it's fangs into his sister. Luke smirked and strutted over to Lexi.

"Why am I always the one who ends up crashing into headstones?" Groaned Lexi as she accepted Luke's hand up and glanced at the name engraved on the now destroyed stone. "Sorry, Thomas A Peterson. I'll pay for that."

"No you won't." Grinned Luke.

"I totally will!" Exclaimed Lexi indignantly.

"Echo, you still owe me money."

"Luke! For God's sake let it go! We were three and I borrowed twenty pence to buy a lolly!"

"And you didn't pay me back."

"It was twenty pence!"

"So? You didn't even share the lolly with me."

Lexi looked at him incredulously. "I offered!"

"It was all covered in your slavers! I didn't want it after that!"

"I still offered!"

"That's not the poi-"

Luke's logical and probably very witty comeback was suddenly cut off by a blood chilling howl. Lexi stiffened and glanced nervously at Luke.

"You heard that too right?"

Luke nodded slowly.

"I think we p-pissed something off." He whispered hoarsely. "M-maybe we should go home. W-we can come back and investigate tomorrow night. P-preferably with someone who can fire laser beams or has s-super strength."

"Yeah. I agree" Stuttered Lexi. "W-we're not really running away. W-we're taking an extremely complicated tactical manoeuvre...In the opposite direction from the s-scary unknown beast."

"Amen to that."

And with one last fearful glance around the moonlight graveyard, the twins made a rapid exit, neither of them noticing the glistening golden eyes following their every movement or the waxy full moon which hung in the dark night sky.

* * *

"My lord."

Duane cast a scrutinising eye over the young demon before him. On the outside he looked just like any other human being, but Duane knew that inside the young man was horrifyingly twisted and gruesome.

"Farouk." He greeted. "My gratitude for your fast arrival. I have a job for you."

The sandy-haired man perked up and looked at him curiously.

"Really? What kind of job?"

"A friend of mine has asked for a problem to be taken care of. Can I trust you with this?"

"Indeed. As you know, my speciality is the truth. Humans spend every second of their pitiful lives hiding behind secrets and lies. I simply allow the truth to be set free. I can have your little problem destroy itself with its own hand."

"Good." Smirked Duane. "Do not fail me."

* * *

Dawn rolled over onto her stomach and flicked the glossy page of her magazine. Reaching over to her iPod, she idly cranked the volume control so her music went from a comfortable buzz to a blaring roar. She nodded her head to the beat and leant back against the headboard of her large double bed. The twins had called a few minutes earlier to let her know that they were done with their patrol. The pair had sounded extremely freaked out but didn't elaborate too much. Dawn had just shrugged it off and asked if Lexi had destroyed anyone else's headstone.

Too absorbed in the shiny pages of her magazine and the deafening tempo drumming in her brain, the younger Summers didn't notice her sister arrive until the blonde took a seat on her bed.

"Shit!" She swore after Buffy had tapped her on the knee to catch her attention. "Oh, hi Buffy."

"Don't swear." Reprimanded the Slayer sternly.

"But you scared the crap out of me." Protested Dawn. "Besides, I am seventeen now. I think I'm entitled to some swearin'"

Buffy shot her a glare. Dawn just shrugged and then actually realised that her older sister was sitting spending time with her. She blinked and stared at Buffy in shock.

"What?" Asked Buffy self-consciously.

"Nothing." Said Dawn shaking her head slightly. "I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"Yeah..." Buffy fidgeted uncomfortably and glanced up at the Key. "I haven't been the best sister recently."

Dawn shot her a 'no-shit-Sherlock' look and Buffy slapped her knee.

"Hey I'm serious." The blonde protested. "I've not only been a bad sister, but a bad guardian too. I have no idea what you do in your free time or who you hang out with. I don't know how you're doing in school, if you have a boyfriend, the list is endless. And it needs to change. Dawnie, I haven't been there and I'm so sorry for that. But I'm gonna be there now."

Dawn was left speechless. Buffy had actually noticed! She leapt at her sister and smothered her in a tight hug. Buffy laughed and wrapped her arms around the younger Summers.

"It's gonna change Dawnie." Smiled Buffy as she pulled away. "And first things first, I want to meet your friends. I need to make sure my little sis is hanging out with a decent crew."

"Sure Buffy." Grinned Dawn. "You'll love them. Meet me at Sundayz after school tomorrow. Y'know, the ice cream parlour in town. Oh my God, the gang will be so excited!"

* * *

"WHAT?!"

Dawn cringed as the gang stared at her in shock. They were sitting in French, the only subject they all had together, the teacher hadn't even noticed their outburst. Dawn's announcement was met with varied reactions. Connor was amazed that Buffy had enough time to meet up with them, Luke was delighted that he finally would get the chance to meet Dawn's supposedly hot older sister, Theo was racing through all the possible ulterior motives the Slayer might have, Ella and Lucy were nervously glancing at each other wondering if Buffy knew they were the freelancers and Lexi, well Lexi said nothing. She had fallen asleep earlier in the lesson and was now sprawled across her desk breathing deeply. And the teacher still remained oblivious.

"Guys, calm down." Pleaded Dawn. "It's not a big deal. Buffy just wants to make sure you're not vampires or demons or drug dealers."

"Well I don't know about being vampires or demons." Quipped Luke. "But Lucy has a stash of paracetamol in her bag."

Lucy reached over a slumbering Lexi and slapped Luke around the back of his head.

"I get really bad headaches occasionally." She explained.

Dawn shook her head at their immature behaviour. She knew that if the gang put their minds to it they could really impress Buffy. She just, however, needed to persuade them to show a level of maturity and not act like a group of two year olds on a sugar high.

"Please guys. I really want to show her that I'm happy. Please. Do it for me."

"Dawn, it's not that we don't want to meet your sister." Began Theo, nervously. "But is it possible that she has suspicions about our...Part time job?"

"Theo has a point." Agreed Connor. "It's awfully convenient. She could be testing us to find out the truth."

"No. That's not Buffy's style." Said Dawn, shaking her head. "Buffy would charge in guns blazing. She wouldn't think up something like this to try and trick us. Besides, I'm pretty sure she doesn't think I'm capable to pull off something like our...Part time job."

"Dawn's right guys." Said Luke. "I think we should meet her. Y'know, give her the benefit of the doubt and all that jazz. You said she's a blonde right?"

To no-one's surprise another slap reached the back off his head. Luke glared at Lucy, who shrugged and shot him an innocent look.

"That one wasn't me. Your sister beat me to it."

Luke spun around to face the culprit and found his groggy twin glaring back.

"Did you even know what we were talking about?" He asked incredulously.

"No." Said Lexi defensively. "But you had your 'I'm-a-macho-man-and-women-dig-me' voice on. I had to assume that your comment was gross and degrading to the female species."

"He was indirectly hitting on Dawn's sister." Explained Ella.

"Very indirectly! I asked if she was blonde! That's hardly hitting on her!"

"In your 'I'm-a-macho-man' voice." Pointed out Lucy. "You were hitting on her."

"I may be wrong, considering I grew up in a hell dimension and all, but doesn't the woman actually have to be there for you to hit on her?" Asked Connor in confusion.

"Guys!" Exclaimed Dawn. "We're getting off topic here!"

The gang mumbled apologies as the younger Summers glared at them.

"Wait. Hold up. What topic are we on?"

Dawn sighed and explained the situation to Lexi. The Scottish girl frowned slightly but soon broke into a grin.

"That's pretty epic guys. We get to meet the original Slayer. She has to be so much cooler than her minions."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Mumbled Dawn. "She can be pretty hard to live with sometimes."

"Yeah." Argued Lexi. "But you're kinda biased. You're her sister. It's, like, the unwritten law that siblings find faults in each other."

Luke nodded his agreement.

"Indeed."

"Teal'c!"

Everyone stared at Lexi in confusion. She just waved her hand, dismissing the incoming questions.

"Anyway, it could be useful to find out if she knows about our demon hunting hobby." Commented Ella. "It's the perfect opportunity."

The freelancers all shared a glance and Dawn found herself holding her breath, nervously waiting for their answer.

"I think." Began Lucy, exchanging one last look with the others. "We're all in agreement. We'll meet up with your sister."

"YES!" Cried Dawn and Luke at the same time.

Luke was suddenly fixed with six disturbed gazes. He desperately fumbled for an explanation but was saved by a pupil knocking on the classroom door. The teacher peeled her eyes away from the French dictionary she was squinting at and peered over her thick glasses.

"Um. I w-was sent t-to get some people. T-the new g-guidance teacher w-wants to see t-them." The young boy stuttered, obviously uncomfortable under the scrutinising gazes of the class and the large owl-like eyes of the French teacher.

He shuffled up to her and handed over a list of names before making a swift escape. The teacher turned her huge eyes to the scrap of paper and skimmed over the scrawled writing. She looked up and approached the freelancers' table. The gang exchanged confused faces briefly before returning their attention to the teacher.

"Apparently the new guidance teacher wants to talk to you." She murmured quietly.

"All of us?" Asked Theo in surprise, only to be answered with a small nod.

"Yes. You should go now. Best not to keep Mr Farouk waiting."

* * *

Farouk smirked to himself as he relaxed in the comfy leather chair in his office and straightened his tie. Humans would let you in anywhere if you waved a diploma in their faces. A sudden rap on the solid oak door pulled him out of his thoughts and he swiftly fixed a fake smile on his handsome features.

"Come in."

The door swung open and seven intensely curious students filed in. Farouk could have laughed. THIS was the group of demon hunters that Cassius was so concerned about? They were no more than children! If he wasn't so utterly terrified of Bianca, he would probably be in hysterics. Instead, he let his smile grow bigger and gestured for the teens to take a seat.

"Hello." He greeted. "I can imagine that you're all wondering why you're here. Well, the truth is, although I'm new at this school, I want you all to feel like you can talk to me when you need to and understand that I will do everything I can to help."

"Well...that's great sir..." Said one of the three girls. Farouk recognised her as one of the Blake twins. "But I don't think any of us really have anything we need to talk about. Except from Luke. Trust me, he has some SERIOUS issues."

"Miss Blake, I understand your reluctance to share. After all, I am a complete stranger. But sometimes that's all you need. A stranger's ear. Believe me, the truth can be liberating."

He nodded slightly at the meaning of his words and started to pace behind his desk. The gang exchanged wary looks.

"People can be trapped by lies, trapped like birds in huge metal cages. Trapped by the darkness of deception and deceit. Struggling in webs of untruths. But it doesn't have to be like that! The truth! The truth is the answer to all of this! As the saying goes, the truth will set you free."

He smirked and reached into his desk drawer.

"And guess what?"

Farouk pulled out a small pouch and reached inside. Grabbing a handful of the contents, he lifted his closed fist up to his face and inhaled deeply.

"I'm setting you free."

The glittering gold dust that had been kept in the pouch shot towards the gang as the demon let out a huge gust of breath. It sprinkled over them before they had time to move, covering them in a thin dusting. Connor was the first to react, his vampire instincts taking over. With a roar he leapt at Farouk , but the demon let out a sinister cackle and disappeared into thin air. Connor turned to the others to find them trying to dust themselves off. To their dismay, however, the unknown gold substance glowed brightly before seeping into their skin.

"What the fuck was that?!" Yelled Luke, leaping to his feet. "I thought he was a guidance teacher?!"

"Apparently not." Said Theo grimly. "I've never seen a teacher disappear like he did before."

"Should we go after him?" Asked Lucy, getting up to stand next to Luke.

"How would we even find him?" Dawn pointed out. "I'm actually more concerned about the shit he threw on us. It was definitely magical."

"I don't feel any different." Mused Lexi. "Maybe it was out of date?"

"Some spells take longer to take effect." Muttered Connor, halting his furious pacing that he had started after Farouk had slipped through his fingers. He ran a hand through his hair. "We don't know what this could do to us and we can't go to the Slayers for help either."

"So basically, we're fucked." Groaned Lexi. "Fantastic. Fan-bloody-tastic."

The gang drifted into silence as they all considered their next move. Theo glanced at his watch.

"The bell's about to ring." He noted. "Perhaps the best thing to do, would be to go to our next class. If anything strange happens at least we'll be able to find each other."

"I agree." Said Dawn. "People would notice if we disappeared."

"Awww." Whined Lexi. "I have Maths next." At Dawn's glare, she sighed. "Fine, but if this dust kills me and the last thing I ever experience is Maths with Mr Burt, I'm coming back to haunt your arses."

Despite the situation, the gang burst into laughter at Lexi's scowl.

"Yeah, you bloody laugh now. Just you all wait. Be afraid, be very afraid."


End file.
